biographies Jan10

André Kertész
2 July 1894 Budapest, Hungary – 28 September 1985 New York, USA
photographer

André Kertész bought his first camera and made his first photograph while working as a clerk at the Budapest stock exchange in 1912. After years of amateur snapshot photography in his native Hungary, he moved to Paris in 1925 and began a career as a freelance photographer. There the young transplant, speaking little French, took to the streets, wandering, observing, and developing his intimate approach to imagemaking.
- http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1883
André Kertész is one of the most original photographers of the 20th century, often creating unexpected compositions from everyday subjects.
- http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/kertesz/


Man Ray
27 August 1890, Philadelphia, USA – 18 November 1976, Paris, France
artist

"Legendary Photography, painter, and maker of objects and films, Man Ray was one of the most versatile and inventive artists of this century. Born in Philadelphia in 1890, he knew the worlds of Greenwich Village in the avant garde era following the 1913 Armory show; Paris in the 1920's and 1930's, where he played a key role in the Dada and Surrealist movements; The Hollywood of the 1940s, where he joined others chased by war from their homes in Europe; and finally, Paris again until his death in 1976. "
- http://www.manraytrust.com/
In 1915 Ray met Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia and soon became involved in the thriving Dada movement.
In 1921 Man Ray moved to Paris, where later he would become closely associated with the Surrealist group, contributing to their exhibitions.
Though Man Ray had a substantial output in painting, he is primarily remembered for his fashion and portrait photography.
He also invented new photographic techniques, which he called the 'Rayograph': objects placed on sensitive paper and exposed to light thus leaving some fantastic images on paper.
Man Ray had a profound impact on modern art. His photographic works were an influential source of inspiration for the avant-garde movements in the 1920s and 1930s.
- http://www.abcgallery.com/R/ray/raybio.html